As an IT professional, what would you say are the top three concerns that keep you awake at night? According to the results of a recent survey, your peers listed security, downtime (disaster recovery), and talent management, in that order.
The survey was commissioned by Sungard Availability Services, a cloud computing, disaster recovery, and managed hosting services provider based in Wayne, Pa. I had the opportunity to discuss the findings with Ric Jones, CIO at LifeShare Blood Centers, a blood donation services provider in Shreveport, La., that’s a Sungard AS customer. Jones ranked disaster recovery ahead of security on his own list of concerns, but he indicated that the two are inextricably linked.
“Disaster recovery is extremely important to the success of LifeShare Blood Centers. If the primary data center in Shreveport experiences downtime for even a few hours, it disrupts the nonprofit’s ability to collect the data needed to gather and distribute critical, life-saving blood supply,” Jones explained. “Security couples up with disaster recovery, as data breaches are occasionally the cause for a disaster or unplanned downtime. This not only impacts an organization’s reputation, but also their ability to do business efficiently. LifeShare Blood Centers houses private information from donors, and it’s vital to our nonprofit we keep their information protected and out of hackers’ hands.”
I was also able to discuss these issues with Chris Burgher, director of consulting services at Sungard AS, who added his perspective.
“With the increased average cost in data breaches reaching an alarming $5.85 million in the U.S. last year, it’s become increasingly important for organizations to ensure they have a top notch information security program in place,” Burgher said. “The frequency of reported breaches has increased, which means actual breaches have skyrocketed.”
I asked Jones what the results of the survey told him that he didn’t already know or suspect, and he said the findings were almost entirely consistent with his experience. But he said one statistic that did surprise him was that organizations across the board felt disaster recovery is undervalued.
“Disaster recovery is vital to the success of our organization, and this really hit home for LifeShare Blood Centers during Hurricane Katrina, which hit prior to [our] working with Sungard AS,” Jones said. “Katrina raised havoc for our company and blood supply. The storm closed several of our regional donor facilities, increased blood demand substantially, prevented donors from giving blood and, consequently, decreased levels of critical blood types to dangerously low levels. If the primary data center experiences downtime, we cannot collect the data necessary to gather and distribute its critical, life-saving blood supply.”
Jones added that one in three residents will require blood at some point during their lifetime, which, in some cases, may save their lives. “This means a supply must always be available,” he said.
According to the survey, when IT pros were asked which IT vendor their organization most undervalues, disaster recovery vendors ranked highest. I asked Jones why he thinks that’s the case. He said that while organizations may have a disaster recovery plan in place, “it isn’t always top-of-mind.”
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